In my mind, Ohio State losing its first NCAA tournament game — to a “little brother” it would
rather avoid, no less — equates to an OSU football team losing to anyone. Which is a long way of
saying y’all have the floor …

Ray: Another year, another underperforming Ohio State basketball team. This team was picked
preseason top 10, believe it or not. With an all-upperclassman starting lineup returning from an
Elite Eight appearance last year, there was no reason to believe otherwise.

At some point, Ohio State fans need to start looking at the top. After a one-and-done in the
NCAA tournament, looking uninspired and losing to 11th-seed Dayton, LaQuinton Ross was honest: “
This team wasn’t ready to play.”

The blame for losing to Dayton, Penn State (twice) and nearly losing to Purdue in the Big Ten
tournament has to fall squarely on Thad Matta, because motivation starts with the head coach.

You can’t blame players for an offensive strategy of dribble, dribble, dribble, take 33 out of
35 seconds on the shot clock, then hoist a desperation shot. You can’t blame players for not
calling timeouts. It’s one thing when the other team is more talented, but mental errors and
lack of discipline, such as turnovers from lazy and sloppy passes, and fouling a three-point
shooter with the game on the line is simple lack of coaching.

— David K. Greer, Gahanna

Mr. Stein: Mercifully, now that the season is over, we won’t have to endure any more articles
about how the Buckeyes didn’t play to their full potential this season. Anybody who watched more
than a couple of Big Ten games knows that’s nonsense.

Sure, they’re capable of playing really good defense, but it’s also a team that shoots poorly
from the outside, doesn’t consistently make their free throws, and has very little inside presence
and a short bench. On top of that, it has several players who struggle to stay dialed in for a full
game.

If I described that team without attaching a name to it, most fans would say it would be
fortunate to win 15 games. So let’s be honest and recognize that this team may have actually
exceeded its potential this season.

— Dana Weese, Dublin

Editor: The fundamentals we all learned in high school are missing. OSU coaches are not teaching
them. There is no boxing out on rebounds. That’s been bad all year. Jump-shooters don’t square up
to the basket when they shoot.

Amir Williams walks and runs flat-footed, never on his toes and ready. He also crow-hops on the
few offensive rebounds he gets. He brings the ball down instead of keeping it high, allowing
smaller players to strip it. To make it even worse, he tries to dribble, giving more defenders time
to tie him up. Back in the day, as they say, he would have been benched for good.

These are just a few fundamentals we were all taught in high school. The OSU coaching staff is
extremely disappointing. For the money they make, we expect more.

— Richard Hunter, Columbus

Editor: What in the world did Ohio State see in Amir Williams when he was recruited? He is not
mobile around the basket. He sometimes looks like he is not in the game, as he stands around and
does not fight to get free for inside shots. And his screens are not effective at all.

Another issue is that Ohio State doesn’t have a reliably consistent shooter/scorer. It is
probably good that they did not advance to play Syracuse. That could have been a very embarrassing
blowout.

— Herbert Bolinger, Indianapolis

Editor: Columbus Crew owner Anthony Precourt is a genius! Rumor was that, when he bought the
team, he wanted to move it to California. What better way to do it than to sign a TV contract so
very few people can see the games on TV?

Fans like me lose interest when we can’t see them play. Kids don’t care if they can’t see them
on TV, so no next-generation fans. Soon he will take the Crew west, and no one will even know they’r
e gone.

— Tim Kessler, Harlem Township

Editor: One game into the tournament, and I have already lost a billion bucks! Oh my, Bucks, you
let me down. Oh well, what would I have done with all that money anyway? There is always next
year.

— Jackie K. Albert, Columbus

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Write me at 34 S. 3rd St., Columbus, 43215, or email me at the address below.Ray Stein is sports editor of The Dispatch.